Integral lenticular picture box

ABSTRACT

A lenticular image product includes an integral bendable lenticular lens sheet formed into a six-sided cube. The lenticular lens sheet has a lenticular lens facing outwardly of the cube, and at least two contiguous sides of the cube have lenticular images viewable through the lenticular lens which display a motion or animation sequence extending from one side to the contiguous side when the cube is rotated about on axis of rotation, the lenticular lens extending parallel to the axis of rotation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to lenticular imaging and relates more particularly to an integral lenticular image box for displaying several individual or related lenticular images.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Lenticular images include an array of cylindrical lenses (or lenticules) in a lenticular material and a sequence of spatially multiplexed images that are viewed through the lenticular material so that different ones of the multiplexed images are viewed at different angles by the viewer. One image effect produced by the lenticular image is a depth or stereoscopic image where the lenticules are oriented vertically and one eye views one image of a stereo pair or sequence from one angle and the other eye views another image from the stereo pair. Another image effect is a motion image where different images on a motion image sequence are viewed by both eyes, while changing the angle at which the image is viewed. In this image effect, the lenticules can be oriented in either the horizontal or vertical direction and the lenticular material is rotated about the long axis of the lenticules. Other effects that combine these two effects, or form collages of unrelated images that can be viewed from different viewing angles can be provided. Other effects include zoom images (one or more images are zoomed from wide angle to narrow angle views), flip images (images of different scenes which may or may not be related), animation images (images simulate motion of an unanimate object), computer generated images, or combinations of different effects.

Lenticular images are formed by decomposing each of several images into image elements equaling the number of lenticules in the lenticular lens element. A set of image elements are multiplexed, one image element for each of the several images, for each lenticule. Thus, if there are ten images and one hundred lenticules, each of the ten images are decomposed into one hundred image elements, and a set of ten image elements, one for each image are associated with each lenticule.

The multiplexed images can be generated as a digital image file and scan printed directly onto a lenticular lens element having a recording layer or printed as a master print which is used to contact print on print media which is laminated to a lenticular lens element or which forms a recording layer of the lenticular lens element.

Typically, two to thirty images can be multiplexed into a single lenticular image. However, there are applications where it is desirable to present a sequence of a hundred or more images constituting an extended motion or animated sequence or to present several different lenticular images in the same lenticular image product. Multisided devices are known for displaying a plurality of pictures. (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,657, issued May 10, 1994, inventor Spencer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,960, issued Jul. 3, 1990, inventor Otake; U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,768, issued Oct. 3, 1989, inventors Watt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,252, issued Jul. 13, 1993, inventor Haluska; U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,060, issued Aug. 19, 1989, inventors Carbo et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,146, issued Feb. 9, 1971, inventor Dembar). It is also known to provide a multisided lenticular device to display a plurality of lenticular images (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,695,346, issued Dec. 9, 1997, inventor Sekiguchi et al., FIGS. 155-159, col. 40, line 39, col. 41, line 26). These devices include many parts, and are complex and expensive to manufacture.

There is thus a need to provide a lenticular image product that can display a large number of images but which has few parts and is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a solution to the problems discussed above.

According to a feature of the present invention, there is provided a lenticular image product comprising an integral bendable lenticular lens sheet formed into a six-sided cube, said lenticular lens sheet having lenticular lens facing outwardly of said cube, at least two contiguous sides of said cube having lenticular images viewable through said lenticular lens which display a motion or animation sequence extending from one side to said contiguous side when said cube is rotated about on axis of rotation, said lenticular lens extending parallel to said axis of rotation.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECT OF THE INVENTION

The invention has the following advantages.

1. A lenticular image product is provided that can display a large number of images (100 or more).

2. The lenticular image product is unitary in structure and is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1 and 2 are respective and perspective plan diagrammatic views of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are respective plan and perspective diagrammatic views of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views useful in explaining the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment of the present invention. Lenticular lens product 10 (FIG. 2) is a six-sided cube formed from bendable lenticular lens sheet 12. As shown in FIG. 5, lenticular lens sheet 12 includes a lenticular lens element 14 having a parallel array of lenticules 16, (shown as including cylindrical lens 17), a lenticular image 18 and a support 20. Lenticular image 18 is formed by decomposing several images A, B, . . . , N (FIG. 6) into image elements A₁, A₂ . . . , B₁, B₂, . . . N₁, N₂ . . . equal to the number of lenticules in the lenticular lens element. A set of image elements, A₁, B₁, . . . N₁, are multiplexed, one image element for each of images A, B, . . . N, for each lenticule (FIG. 7). The lenticular image is viewed through the lenticular lens to obtain the desired effect (motion, depth, animation, flip, zoom, etc.). In FIG. 1, the bendable lenticular lens sheet 12 is formed in the shape of a cross having six contiguous square image areas 30 (Frame 1), 32 (frame 2), 34 (Frame 3), 36 (Frame 4), 38 (Frame 5), and 40 (Frame 6). Image areas 30, 32, 34, 36 are arranged in a first row, and image areas 38, 40 are disposed on opposite sides of and form a second row with image area 32, Tabs 42 and 44 extend from image area 30, tabs 46, 48 extend from image area 34, tabs 50, 52, 54 extend from image area 36. Tabs 42-54 have adhesive (glue) applied to them. Cube 10 is formed by bending sheet 12 at the borders between image areas and sealing the edges together by means of adhesive tabs.

Image areas 30, 32, 34 and 36 have respective lenticular images displaying a motion sequence from one image area to the next contiguous area as the cube 10 as rotated about an axis parallel to the axis of the lenticules. In FIG. 2, the lenticules extend horizontally, the lenticular images extend in the direction of the lenticules, and the cube 10 is rotated in the direction of arrow 58 about horizontal axis 60. For example, using a cube can be created that has 4 motion or animation images in sequence on the sides of the cube; this allows expanding 2 seconds of motion per card to 8 seconds of motion per cube. One motion card (motion or animation) can have 30 motion frames in it when printed on image lenticular film. Now take a 120-frame sequence of a baseball player hitting a home run and running around the bases. Frame 1 would have the first 30 frames of the sequence in in (hitting the ball and starting to run to first base). Frame 2 will have the next 30 frames in it (running from first to second base). Frame 3 the next 30 frames (running from second base to third). Frame 4 would be the last 30 frames (running from third to home plate).

By rotating the cube on axes the images can be viewed in sequence. This will allow the viewer to see all of the action by just spinning the cube. The other two sides of the cube could have the players stats, advertisments, logos, ext. on them.

The multiplexed lenticular images can be generated as a digital image file and scan printed directly onto the back of the lenticular lens element by laser scanning of an emulsion layer, by ink jet or thermal printing, by xerographic printing, or printed as a master print which is used to contact print on print media which is laminated to or forms a recording layer of the lenticular lens element.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the lenticules extend vertically, the lenticular images extend parallel to the lenticules and cube 10 is rotated about vertical axis 70 in the direction of arrow 72 to view the continuous motion or animation sequence.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

PARTS LIST

10 cube

12 bendable lenticular lens sheet

14 lenticular lens element

16 parallel lenticules

18 lenticular image

20 support

30,32,34,36,38,40 image areas

42,44,46,48,50,52,54 glue tab

58 direction arrow

60 horizontal axis 

What is claimed is:
 1. A lenticular image product comprising: an integral bendable lenticular lens sheet formed into a six-sided cube, each side of said lenticular lens sheet having a lenticular lens facing outwardly of said cube, and each of said six sides of said cube having a lenticular image viewable through said lenticular lens sheet, wherein at least two contiguous sides of said cube having lenticular images viewable through said lenticular lens which display a motion or animation sequence extending from one side to said contiguous side when said cube is rotated about on axis of rotation, said lenticular lens extending parallel to said axis of rotation.
 2. The lenticular product of claim 1 wherein four contiguous sides of said cube have lenticular images viewable through said lenticular lens which display a continuous motion or animation sequence extending from one side to the next side of said four sides as said cube is rotated.
 3. A method of forming a lenticular image product comprising: providing a bendable lenticular lens sheet having a lenticular lens side and an image side having six contiguous image areas in the shape of a cross such that four image areas are arranged in a first row and said remaining two image areas are disposed on opposite sides of and form a second row with one of said image areas of said first row, said second row being perpendicular to said first row; forming lenticular images in said six image areas which are viewable through said lenticular lens, wherein at least first and second lenticular images are viewable through said lenticular lens on the image side of at least two contiguous image areas; and forming said bendable lens sheet into a six sided cube with said image areas forming sides of said cube and said lens side facing outwardly, wherein said first and second lenticular image display a motion sequence extending from one image area to the contiguous image area.
 4. The method of claim 3 wherein said lenticular lens sheet includes adhesive tabs extending from one or more of said image areas and wherein said tabs seal said sides of said formed cube. 